'Our housing estate used to be a theme park'

Many of the residents of Shipley Lakeside once visited the theme park where their homes now stand

"I bought a house here because it's the former site of American Adventure."

Driving into an unassuming housing estate in Shipley, near Ilkeston, you could be forgiven for not realising the rollercoaster ride that the parcel of Derbyshire it sits on has been on over the years.

Once the grounds of a country hall, most people remember the thrills and spills delivered for two decades as it played host to a popular theme park.

But while the venue shut for good in 2007 to be redeveloped as new homes, the fun lives on in the memories of many of the people who now live here.

Crowds flocked to the theme park around the lake in the 1980s, 1990s and into the 2000s

Jordan Gosling moved into Shipley Lakeside in May 2024, enamoured with views of the country park and how tranquil the area is.

But he also enjoys remembering the hustle and bustle of the USA-themed attraction.

"It used to be a good little theme park, I have lots of positive memories and remember the rides weren't too big – so it was a good place to get used to rollercoasters," he said.

His favourite rides at the site were The Missile and the JCB diggers.

The lake at the heart of the theme park has been retained in the housing development

He said: "I started coming in my early teens, 13 and 14 - we'd try and come every school holiday because it was nearby.

"It's nice to know the site of a theme park which I had good memories in has been used for something."

In the Domesday Book, the area was recorded as the lands surrounding a manor, and in medieval times was a forest used for hunting.

Shipley Hall was built in 1700, and the area was mined extensively - so much so the hall was eventually vacated due to the noise and disturbance, and eventually demolished due to subsidence in the 1940s.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Derbyshire County Council turned the land into a country park as a memorial to its mining heritage.

As well as roller coasters and log flumes there were plenty of rides for the younger visitors

Boyzone visited to cut the ribbon on a ride in 1998

But a plot was set aside for a theme park, which opened as Britannia Park in 1985, with boxer Henry Cooper cutting the ribbon.

This "showcase of Britain" failed to inspire the public, but a rebrand two years later as the American Adventure proved a huge success.

However by the 2000s, visitor numbers had started to dwindle, with rides starting to close, and the gates were locked on the site for the final time in 2007.

The site has since been redeveloped as housing and a 66-bed care home, but there are still nods to its former life.

Yellow stones from the park can still be found lying around near Devin Leahy's house

Devin Leahy lives in a house where the Grand Niagara Falls log flume once flowed.

He said: "My girlfriend and I talk about it often – there's a load of yellow stones nearby which look exactly like they're from American Adventure.

"I grew up living just over the hill - I can remember most of it, where the rides were.

"One of the reasons I bought a house here was because it's the former site of American Adventure - but I was quite disappointed with the naming of the roads, and how there was no homage to the theme park."

For two decades visitors were entertained by USA-themed rides and shows

The campaign to free Coronation Street's Diedre Barlow came to the Derbyshire attraction in 1998

Another resident, Louise Glover, remembers the days of cowboys where her home now sits.

She said: "I used to come here as a child on school trips. I'll always remember the cowboy bit on the long stretch, watching them play it out.

"They'd have a shootout, cowboys would come out of saloons, you'd be witnessing it like it was theatre.

"I loved it, it's weird to think that I live down here."

Laura Nightingale moved in last summer, and said knowing the history of her home was "special".

She recalls visiting as a child but said: "I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to rides to be honest.

"It's crazy to look at a map of the park, to realise how close we are to it and to relive the memories I had there - it just doesn't seem real to be honest.

"I never would have believed that I'd own a house here."

The park gave eager Brits a flavour of the Wild West